Chapter Nine

Chapter IX

We can count the stars and disappear

     "Damn, what happened to XIV?"

     "The memories are to much for her. She's a repeat of Xion; she has the same problem. Although, I'm not sure what's come over her. It's more powerful than Xion's ever were."

     "Vixen, why are they that strong?"

     "She was torn away from what she loved the most. The guilt is eating her alive."

     "Why?"

     "Didn't you hear me? She was torn away from what she loved. One cannot simply cope with that nonviolently."

     "She's a Nobody, though."

     "She posesses a rare gift."

     "Can she truly feel?"

     "It appears so."

     "Did the former XIV posess this talent?"

     "No. Those were merely fragments of memory that overflowed."

     "I'm assuming that Xaroval suffers from the same problem."

     "Not exactly; she has emotions. Xion didn't. This makes it even worse of a problem."

     "How could she truly be a Nobody?"

     "I don't think she fully is."

     "Then what could she be?"

     Silence.

*          *          *          *          *          *

      Static. There's a brief blur and I am suddenly seeing colors; bright cobalt sparks cascading from the milky sky, deep violet gashes scoring across the horizon. I gaze in awe at the daunting array; a distinguished symbol is mapped out by the stars.

     I shield my wandering eyes as I am bathed in a fierce flash of hot, white light. After a few moments my eyelids flutter open and I find that I am standing in a pool of glimmering moonlight. I recoil at the sight, and attempt to sink to my knees, but I am locked in place by an unseen force.

     There is a sharp clank, and following that, I hear a distant whurr, like something spinning. I suddenly feel a piercing, agonizing pain jolt through my body and I attempt to scream, but I cannot; my mouth stays firmly shut. My vision bleeds the images together and I begin panting, struggling to make out what is before me. I see an azure blue-cloaked figure, but my sight is too crude to make it out. I want to shriek in agony. I want to cry out at the top of my lungs. But alas, I am imprisoned in this silent state. 

    The pain is too much. I close my eyes and numbness overcomes me.